The most anticipated Louisville men’s basketball season in some time got off on a sour note Friday night, with the Cardinals falling to visiting Kansas, 90-82, in exhibition play.
The Jayhawks scored the game’s first nine points, and outside of a few minutes in the middle of the first half, the visitors pretty much controlled the action from start to finish.
The story of the evening was KU freshman phenom Darryn Peterson. The potential No. 1 pick in next year’s NBA Draft somehow looked even better than advertised, scoring 26 points on 9-of-15 shooting, knocking down six three-pointers, and recording five steals.
As was often the case early on a season ago, Louisville struggled with turnovers and outside shooting. The Cardinals gave the ball away 20 times, and connected on just 11 of their 38 three-point attempts, good for 28.9 percent. U of L shot only 33.3 percent from the field overall.
Pat Kelsey’s team was paced by senior guard Ryan Conwell, who matched Peterson for the game-high in scoring with 26 points. J’Vonne Hadley nearly recorded a double-double, finishing with 13 points and nine rebounds.
While it was a spectacular debut for Peterson, Louisville’s own freshman phenom had a night he’d rather forget. Point guard Mikel Brown Jr. hit just two of his 15 field goal attempts and also finished the evening with only two assists.
Louisville once again looked less athletic and less physical around the rim, particularly on the defensive end. Interior defense and rebounding were major concerns toward the end of last season, and Friday night’s performance did little to alleviate the fears that they may be concerns again this winter. The Cards are going to need more from German import Sananda Fru, or they’re going to need Kasean Pryor to contribute more at the 5 (once he’s back) than anyone was anticipating when this roster was pieced together.
I think tonight will be good for Mikel Brown. He’s a capable outside shooter who is now running a system that emphasizes the outside shot, but a semi-challenged three shouldn’t be option A for him when he has the ball in his hands. Hopefully the humbling he received in his first Yum Center performance will help hammer that home.
Darryn Peterson is outrageously good.
This wasn’t the debut anyone was hoping to see, but it shouldn’t be cause for major alarm either. If reacted to appropriately, this will wind up being a positive for a team with a host of talented pieces still figuring out how to put everything together.
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